Cytochromes in our mitochondria are not only for respiration. The COI gene governs the oxidases and acts as a marker for identification of many animal species, used especially in birds. DNA barcoding for a species has been the handy result for a decade. Using 387 specimens from 141 Dutch species, bird evolution has been observed over many different groups.

The species tended to diverge by 9.54 % on average. With tiny 0.29% divergence within any one species. Most species were able to have unique barcodes, apart from some related gull species and skuas. The whole of the Netherlands bird fauna were barcoded, apart from the 5% that couldn't be sampled. While the barcoding derived from a small piece of one mitochondrial DNA sequence can't be regarded as the answer for all researchers, the utility is undeniable. All samples were collected by the Museum as a matter of course as they carried out business as normal, so little extra labour was necessary.

Mansour Aliabadian from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and his colleagues from The University of Amsterdam, the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden and Oxford Brookes University present their paper in in ZooKeys.

Their efforts are far from being in vain. They proved here that a small bird population can simple be checked and new species or combination of old species together is hinted at by the data. The two sub-species of Sylvia curruca, for example, have been proved several times now to look like separate species. They are little warblers known as lesser whitethroats.

There were 8 groups with similar barcodes to each other, including 7 Larus gull species groups and 2 skua, Stercorarius species The gulls are well-known to have speciated recently around the Arctic.

It seems the taxonomy of the world's birds will be the first to be completely checked by "barcoding." How important is that for rare and sadly almost-extinct species. We only know what we've lost when it's gone, so in this way, we will know the full cost of our careless lack of conservation.

Sponsors

Recent News

How can you describe the threats existing to species, both large and small? Using the highly-threatened primates, we can perhaps see how they have contrived to exist until the current time. Then we can better understand just how we can prevent factors simply wiping them from the face of the earth, often through ignorance, lack of care, prejudice and of course the universal profit motive. Conservation begins in our minds, but demands much more than that.

What does that blue butterfly do when you are not watching. We still have to discover exactly how the Eurasian large blue exploits Myrmica ants, but many of its relatives are either cuckoos (eg. (Phengaris alcon), or outright predators like the AustralasianLiphyra brassolis larvae ,eating the whole brood of the green ants they live with. How did such diverse habits evolve? Well, start reading here.

For several years, excitement has been building over the Atlantic presence of Manta birostris and Manta cf birostris/ this is the classification system trying to tell us of a potential new species that is related to genus Manta. Little progress has been made on this W. Atlantic species of oceanic manta, but it cant be long before we can confirm new knowledge of parenting and juvenile growth in at least the main species, which seems to live alongside the potential new manta.

Sponsored Links

Recent Blog Posts

The future is certainly renewable, but are we too late to prevent future centuries problems of global warming- and the rest! Here are some current US solutions to waste and warming for you to enjoy---there are some ads in this piece but weve allowed them for one blog only.

When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.